Marin Voice: You're free to go Green

PLEASE CONSIDER guiding the Democratic Party toward a more progressive path by voting for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.

Presidential elections often are seen only as determining who becomes president, and whether presidential policies will be those of the one, or the other, of the two major parties' candidates.

There is, can be and should be another aspect to presidential elections when many of the policies of both major parties' candidates are not only significantly similar to each other, but also clash with one's own progressive outlook.

Under that circumstance, progressives can, by voting for the Green Party's candidate, use their votes to tell the Democratic Party that if it wants their votes, in future to go to the Democrats' presidential candidates, it should choose candidates who are more progressive.

With that concept in mind, please consider the "here and now" of the upcoming election.

There are, of course, differences between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. But many to most of their policies are not only identical, but are, even more importantly, strikingly at odds with the progressive policies for which Jill Stein and the Green Party stand.

 Obama and Romney support heavy school testing and policies that favor privatization of public schools.

Jill Stein is clear in her opposition to both of those positions, and sees public education as way of cementing bonds within our society.

 Both Obama and Romney favor such freedom-destroying programs as indefinite detention and a government right to read all emails and to listen to everyone's telephone calls.

Jill Stein and the Green Party oppose such freedom-destroying policies.

The upshot of voting for Obama is, therefore, in light of the pervasive Obama/Romney policy similarities noted above, that if you vote for Obama, instead of Jill Stein, the Democratic Party may very logically assume that you support a continued bloated military, drilling in the Arctic, more offshore drilling, nuclear power, privatization of education. And that you oppose Medicare for All health care, environmentally sensitive energy policies, public education and other truly progressive policies.

When that question is posed, the answer frequently is if we vote for the Green Party candidate, Romney could win, and he, from a progressive's standpoint, is worse than Obama.But for Californians, causing a Romney win isn't true, because of the Electoral College system.

With that system, Obama, now polling in California with an unbeatable lead, will get all of the state's electoral votes, whether he wins by 2 million votes or by 1 vote.

In this election, progressive Californians are free to vote our progressive consciences.

By voting for Jill Stein, we can send a message to the Democratic Party about the progressive changes we want, while at the same time knowing that our doing so will not lead California's Electoral College votes to go to Mitt Romney.

Please consider this perspective when you vote.

William Rothman of Belvedere is a retired physician and a Marin political activist.